The Economic Devastation Of COVID-19 Is Hitting Women Particularly Hard
Women, especially Dark women, are getting rid of nearly all careers in the coronavirus downturn. This is unprecedented.
By Emily Peck
Why Women?
The slowdown in 2008 was a “production recession,” explained C. Nicole Mason, leader and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. People stopped making and building things as loans got harder to acquire. Crudely speaking, a lot of staff who made stuff ― typically men ― lost their jobs.
This time around, the slowdown commenced in the service sector. With everyone jammed at home, People in america are not paying for other folks to do things on their behalf. Hairdressers, restaurant individuals, hotel housekeepers and retail clerks have all been trashed of work. And women contain the most these jobs.
Another difference between your mancession and now: The processing and construction jobs lost in the past were fairly well-paying. Some were even unionized. That meant those men may have had some financial cushion ― either personal savings or benefits ― to land back on.
The women getting rid of their jobs now were underpaid. Remember the gender pay space? Women comprise two-thirds of the lowest-paid workers in the U.S. These service careers have bad benefits: less paid ill leave, no health insurance, etc.
“That just really creates an extremely precarious situation,” Mason said.
One particularly vulnerable group right now is domestic personnel ― the nannies, housekeepers and other attention providers who work in other people’s homes. About 90% of the personnel are women, plus they already labor for low wages, usually without benefits.
